Community Arts Events Calendar

In the Present: The Zacks Gift of 1962

Thursday, March 28, 2019 through Thursday, March 28, 2019

Time: 10:00 AM - 05:00 PM

Location: Agnes Etherington Art Centre

Description:

“The importance of this collection cannot be ignored because it shows the very best pieces of contemporary painting—the expression of a time.”
—André Biéler, director, Agnes Etherington Art Centre, 1962

In the Present features Canadian paintings, drawings and sculptures that were donated, soon after they were made, as part of a larger gift from Samuel and Ayala Zacks. Cutting edge in 1962, these works provided a major boost to the fledgling gallery, then five years old, and continue to be a core of collecting strength for the Agnes.

The Zacks gift captures a vibrant moment in Canadian art and reflects the spirit of an age on the cusp of cultural change. Artists were exploring tensions between abstract and figural expression, in a bohemian world of beat poetry, cool jazz and existential thought. Meanwhile, the Space Race, Cold War, civil rights movement, Cuban Revolution and Quiet Revolution unfolded in the news.